


there is a graveyard in my mouth (filled with words that have died on my lips)

by cosmycs



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Bruce Wayne Tries to Be a Good Parent, Bruce Wayne is Bad at Feelings, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, btw the teen rating is just for swearing, honestly it focuses more on bruce's emotional state then the boys' relationship, no beta we die like jason
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-18 18:16:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28871451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosmycs/pseuds/cosmycs
Summary: The first thing he thinks iswhich one of you is no longer my child?Then, with his sense of despair and guilt growing,which one of you wasnevermy child?Bruce learns that Dick and Jason are dating.
Relationships: Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson/Jason Todd, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne
Comments: 20
Kudos: 219





	there is a graveyard in my mouth (filled with words that have died on my lips)

“I want to make this clear,” Dick says, before he even sits down. “We aren't asking for permission.” 

It takes a second for his words to break through the haze of joy bubbling up from Bruce's chest. His sons are here, together, in his father's study. Bruce can remember Jason, 12 years old and 90 pounds dripping wet, falling asleep in the same chair he is sitting in now. Then he notices Dick’s hands clutched around the chair he's standing behind, how Jason is staring down Bruce, his posture carefully relaxed in a way that could only mean bad news.

Dick waits until Bruce’s eyes flits back up to his, and reaches out and grabs Jason's hand. Their fingers lace together, and for a second they glance back at each other. Bruce’s stomach drops.

The first thing he thinks is  _ which one of you is no longer my child.  _ Then, with his sense of despair and guilt growing,  _ which one of you was  _ never  _ my child. _

The answer is obvious. But he can never quite forget the terrible year where Bruce walking into a room meant Dick storming out. The months where they didn’t speak, and any effort to reach out would perpetuate the cycle of fighting and guilt and silence. Above all, Bruce remembers the night where it hit him that he’d never adopted Dick, and realized just how easy it would be for Dick to walk out of his life entirely. He had promised to do better with Jason, to make sure Bruce was his  _ family _ .

Besides, Jason had defied all logic before. The little boy who stole the Bat’s tires. The Robin that came back from the dead. Apparently forgiving Bruce was a step to far, and Bruce knew that, he did, it's just--

_ If Dick came back _ , he kept thinking,  _ if Dick came back, then it means this can’t be too hopeless _ .

Dear Lord, when would Bruce learn to stop comparing the two?

Dick and Jason have been quiet, cataloguing his reaction. He’s tried to keep his face neutral, but something in his expression must have shifted, because Dick opens his mouth.   
  
“Look, I know you can't, or won’t, trust Jason-- don't give me that look, Bruce, I’ve watched you two do all this for half a decade now-- but Jason’s always had a big heart, he’s always cared so much, you should see him when--” Dick keeps talking, Bruce can see his mouth moving, could read his lips if he had to, but he can’t bring himself to pay attention. Bruce has followed Jason through burning buildings, has seen Jason in the kitchen with Alfred, has carried him up to bed after he’d fallen asleep in the cave _. He knows. _ “How long has this been going on?”   
  
Dick, ever the diplomat, stops his earlier speech and goes to start a new one (“Well it  depends--”) but Jason cuts him off.    
  
“You didn’t know?”   
  
“I had assumed you were with Arsenal--”   
  
“Well, if you mean in the biblical sense, sure, but we were really just fucking around.” Jason’s grin is lazy and proud when he turns to smirk at Dick. Dick responds with a puff of air halfway between a laugh and a sigh. Bruce remembers lecturing Jason for swearing in this very spot, what must be 10 years ago now. It seems like yesterday and a million years ago all at once.   
  
“‘Course, me and Dickie started off like that too, but if you wanna hear all about that then this is a whole new level of fucked up--”   
  
Bruce doesn’t, thank you. He hears Dick kick Jason under the table before replying “The  _ dating _ has been going on for a little over a year now.”   
  
It’s a gut punch, but all he lets out is a thoughtful hum. “Does anyone else know?” He leaves out the  _ am I the last person you’ve told?  _ That’s been racing around his head.    
  
Jason answers. “Tim knows, and Barbra. Steph and Cass, probably. Hell, I think Alfred knew before we did.”   
  
“Wally too. And Donna, and Roy. Actually, most of the Titans.” Dick chuckles.    
  
There’s a pause as Bruce takes it in. Gossip spreads like wildfire through the Titan’s network, and it’s only a matter of time before it makes its way to the Justice League. It would explain the looks Clark has been sending him.    
  
Bruce wonders what he did to these boys to make them more comfortable with  _ Oliver Queen _ knowing their secrets before their own fa-- well, before Bruce.   
  
Dick must pick up on Bruce’s torment, because he adds “We’re planning to tell Damian after this.”   
  
There’s another pause, and Bruce can feel himself going numb. Distantly, he wonders if either of them were ever his sons.   
  
“And you are happy?” He directs the question to both of them, but Jason immediately bristles. 

“I know you don’t think I’m good enough, but fucking hell Bruce, do you seriously think Dick would be with me if I was hurting him?” Jason’s voice cuts through the static and Bruce’s eyes snap to him. Jason raises his chin defiantly and Bruce’s heart clenches even further. The thin  scar on Jason's throat taunts him. He’d lost the right to care about this boy. He’d lost it a long time ago. 

How many times can a father be expected to lose his son?

Not his son, now. Never his son. He refuses to tear his eyes from Jason's acid green gaze.  _ If they get married he’ll be your son again,  _ says the playboy.  _ If they break up you might lose him forever,  _ says the bat.  _ If, if, if,  _ says his mother.  _ You get so lost in the if’s that you lose the now _ .   
  
Well, Bruce can’t stand the now. He gets up, moves to the grandfather clock, and begins turning the handles. Before he leaves, he spares one last look to the two young men in his father’s study, still standing hand in hand.   


“Just be careful.” Jason's fist tightens around the arm of his chair, so Bruce tries for a joke. “I don't want to write either of you out of the will.”  _ Again, again, again _ races around his mind. He catches Jason's eyes widening, sees the shock that he would still be in Bruce’s will. At Jason’s side, Dick’s smile is soft. 

**Author's Note:**

> jason's totally getting the batmobile.
> 
> anyways this is my fist (published) fanfiction! its messy and short but i'm proud of it! i'd love it if y'all would shoot me a kudos or a comment, and i hope y'all have a nice day!
> 
> p.s. if anyone knows how to put italics in the summary please tell me


End file.
